


Honesty is the Best Policy

by monimala



Category: The Young and the Restless
Genre: F/M, Gap Filler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 03:34:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11500932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monimala/pseuds/monimala
Summary: A filler ficlet for the July 2017 Newman charity gala.Toys get played with. Aside from that one mind-melting kiss in New York, Ashley hasn't touched him.





	Honesty is the Best Policy

The tuxedo is a lie. The polish is a lie. He's not suave. But it's nice that all of Ashley's colleagues and friends — and even her mother — seem to buy the deception. Ravi tries to maintain his air of cool nonchalance as he settles into his chair beside her. Ravi Shapur, International Man of Mystery, with a gorgeous blonde on his arm. But the real Ravi, the one with the Threadless t-shirts and EDM playlists, is hyperaware of just how outclassed he is. Ashley is stunning tonight. Red dress, red lips, the light floral scent of Jabot perfume. She could have any man in this park with a snap of her fingers. Instead, she's here with him — with god knows how many people winking and nudging and assuming he's her boytoy.

Toys get played with. Aside from that one mind-melting kiss in New York, Ashley hasn't touched him. He's been her confidant, her partner in bringing down Graham Bloodworth, her loyal tech guy. He hasn't been her lover. No matter what anyone might think. No matter how many times he's wished for that very thing.

Ashley holds herself apart. Not just from him, but from everyone. And he knows now that a lot of that is because of Dina and her abandonment. It doesn't make it any easier to observe. This amazing woman deserves to be loved, deserves to be cherished. She may let him accompany her for a night or two, but she's terrified to let him in.

Somehow they get through the concert and all of the Newman-adjacent drama that ensues. Ravi keeps up his pretense of being worldly and cultured all the way to the afterparty at Top of the Towers...and Ashley's own pretense of togetherness and impenetrability seems to weigh down her shoulders. For a moment, in the elevator, her mask slips. She closes her eyes and sighs, leaning back against the wall.

 _Hand me your burdens_ , he wants to tell her. _I'll carry them all._ Instead he just asks if she's alright.

"Thank you." It's not a "yes," and it's not a "no." It's a classic deflection. She looks at him through her lashes, lips a thin and tight line. He only has the slightest inkling of what's on her mind. He's not arrogant enough to think it's him. What he _represents_ , perhaps, but not actually him. He's probably the one person in Genoa City who doesn't demand anything of Ashley. Not even her time. He was shocked when she asked him to be her date to the gala tonight. Shocked and honored.

They have 10 floors to go when she speaks again. And it's a question that knocks him for a loop. "Am I leading you on?"

"What? No!" he sputters immediately. "Ashley, I don't expect anything from you."

"You should. You deserve that, Ravi." She comes off the wall, closing the short distance between them. "You deserve more than whispers about what we're doing together."

The answer is obvious. He hates that she doesn't know it. "I only want what you're willing to give."

She laughs, but it's not humorous. It's bitter, self-deprecating. It breaks his heart. "Where were you when I was 25? How are you real?"

He's been the only one in town who doesn't demand anything of her. Until now. Because he needs something crucial: her belief. Ravi reaches for her hand, squeezes it gently, and then places it on his cheek. "Don't I feel real? I'm right here, Ashley. I'm not an illusion. i'm not going to slip through your fingers if you don't hold on tight enough."

Her fingertips curl inward for one tentative stroke of his skin — he's absurdly glad he shaved, not that he can ever grow much of a beard — and then she breaks his hold. "You're so sweet." She says it like it's a condemnation. Like she doesn't deserve sweetness after all this time.

There is a long, long list of the things Ravi is not. He's not an alpha, for instance. There's no surge of testosterone urging him to prove just how sweet he isn't. He doesn't want to slam the emergency-stop button and crowd her into the wall, kissing her until she realizes he's not sugar but spice.  
  
He does want to hold her hand. To tangle their fingers. To brush his lips against her cheek, her jaw, her hair. To prove to her that he's investing his respect and adoration in the right person. "You're so amazing," he assures her. "You're strong and brilliant and beautiful."

"I'm broken," she counters. "There is something missing inside me."

He doesn't believe that for an instant. On a good day, she doesn't either. But all of those high society gossips have gotten to her. Chipped away at her defenses, scaled her walls. "Nothing's missing, Ashley...but if you're feeling empty, I can fill you up."

It doesn't come out right. _Oh, God._ It comes out very, very wrong. Ravi's face flames and he blurts out "sorry," and drags his hands through his hair. "I didn't mean...that was so..."

But there is really mirth in Ashley's laugh now. Real light in her eyes. "I wish you did mean it," she says, gently. "You _should_ mean it. If not with me, then with someone else. Someone your own age."

What else can he do then but open a vein for her? "I don't want someone my own age. I only want you," he confesses. One hundred percent lacking in game, in guile. In everything but the desire to make her feel loved. "Tell me you don't want me, and I will walk away. I'm serious, Ashley. If it's what you need, just tell me to go."

She doesn't. Instead, she reaches out, slams the emergency-stop button and crowds him against the elevator's back wall. "Stay," she whispers into his mouth. "Stay and fill me up."

Ravi kisses her lips, her cheek, her hair. He tangles their fingers together, using their combined hands to shove up her dress, to work at his zipper. He's not suave. He's not polished. He's no alpha. But he is pretty excellent at being literal.

And, whether she realizes it or not, he's pretty excellent at being exactly what Ashley Abbott needs.

 

\--end--


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